Buffalo Bills News - September 22, 2003

Bills' offense doesn't get much time to do its job [5:10 AM]Fort Lauderdale Sun Sentinel reports:
'By working Williams overtime, the Dolphins were able to maintain possession for 40:50, leaving Bledsoe only 19:10 to work. The Bills came in averaging 32:30 and 346.5 yards in their first three games and had scored 69 points.'

A useful grudge is back -- no spit [5:09 AM]Fort Lauderdale Sun Sentinel reports:
'It wasn't all Surtain. It was Jason Taylor jawing at Moulds as he broke the huddle. It was Marion standing over him on the Bills' first series of the third quarter, when he couldn't pull in a pass slightly in front of him. It was any other Dolphin you could think of trying to get a word in. It was a team that acted like one, guys taking up for their teammate.'

Dolphins defense full of fury [5:08 AM]Fort Lauderdale Sun Sentinel reports:
'Buffalo quarterback Drew Bledsoe came off like Nancy Drew, completing 10 of 25 passes for 98 yards and a handle-with-tweezers 18.4 rating (he entered the game with a 112.5 rating). Even that overstates his night. Before its final drive, the Bills had more penalty yardage (84) than total offense (67).'

Familiarity no help to Rogers [5:07 AM]Fort Lauderdale Sun Sentinel reports:
'Rogers is familiar with Buffalo special teams coach Danny Smith and much of his personnel. Smith and the Bills also are familiar with Rogers, who had a down year in 2002.'

Lights out for Bills [5:06 AM]Palm Beach Post reports:
'"This isn't shocking, this is pleasing," said defensive end Adewale Ogunleye, who had two sacks. "Drew is a future Hall of Fame quarterback. But man, we've got players all over the locker room, too."'

Ricky's special Sunday sealed with a kiss [5:05 AM]Palm Beach Post reports:
'"He's the best back in the league," Buffalo coach Gregg Williams said. "He was the best back in the league last year, and he's the best back in the league now."'

Fiedler the fighter perfect fit for Dolphins [5:04 AM]Palm Beach Post reports:
'Look at the Buffalo Bills, hottest team in the AFC East. Last week they scored 38 points at Jacksonville, this week at Pro Player Stadium the only touchdown they get is provided by the defense and Miami gives them a 17-7 plunking.'

Buffalo's offense disappears [5:03 AM]Palm Beach Post reports:
'Instead, the Bills quarterback had one of the worst days of his career, completing 10-of-25 passes for 98 yards and two interceptions -- numbers actually padded by a four-completion drive good for 40 yards in the final moments of the game.'

Dolphins' pass rush sets tone [5:02 AM]Palm Beach Post reports:
'"If they're going to double-team J.T., I've got to make them pay," Ogunleye said of the Bills concentrating on Taylor. "We started to jell tonight. We didn't do anything differently. We know what we're doing. We didn't listen to the criticism after the first game."'

Surtain, Dolphins get the better of Moulds [5:01 AM]Palm Beach Post reports:
'"Absolutely he'll play," Jason Rosenhaus said. "It's a nine-month injury and if anything we've had to slow him down. His doctors say the knee is healed. It's just strengthening everything around it. He can start practicing later this year and we believe he'll play."'

Dolphins pick off Bills 17-7 [5:00 AM]Florida Today reports:
'On Sunday night, however, it was Miami which got the best of its showdown with Moulds, picking off two passes intended for him. The Dolphins also shut down another Dolphin killer -- running back Travis Henry, who had 7 yards on five carries before leaving the game with an apparent rib injury in the second half.'

Dolphins notebook [4:58 AM]Naples Daily News reports:
'The Dolphins have scored a first-quarter touchdown in four of the last five games against the Bills, while Buffalo has scored a touchdown in the opening period just once in the last 17 games against Miami, including the playoffs. Sunday's game was scoreless after the first quarter.'

Winning -- 3 yards at a time [4:57 AM]Vero Beach Press Journal reports:
'The Dolphins won, 17-7, to raise their record to 2-1 and pull even with Buffalo and New England atop the division - but only because the Bills played more like the Bengals, only because Drew Bledsoe suffered through his worst outing since his rookie season.'

Excessive use of running back can be addictive [4:55 AM]Orlando Sentinel reports:
'As Ricky goes, the Dolphins will go. But they might consider incorporating the word "decoy" in the playbook. Or remembering there are other skill players on the payroll. Or making sure Dave Wannstedt doesn't have Williams in his fantasy league.'

1st-half sacks boost defense [4:54 AM]Orlando Sentinel reports:
'The Dolphins were trying to avoid something that hadn't happened in 14 seasons. It's been that long since they lost two homes games in September. Miami had won 13 of its past 17 games in September. The problem, as any Dolphins fan can attest, has been the December streaks.'

Williams and Dolphins Play Keepaway With Bills [4:53 AM]New York Times reports:
'The loss was the Bills' first of the season after two victories, but it was their eighth in the last 10 games here. At least their rejuvenated defense, with four new starters, stood out. The Bills extended a streak of holding opponents to 17 or fewer points to six games.'

Too much Ricky [4:52 AM]New York Post reports:
'It wasn't pretty, but this is Wannstedt football.'

Bills find it’s not easy going unbeaten [4:50 AM]MSNBC reports:
'As the Buffalo Bills learned the hard way Sunday night, it won’t be easy. In fact, if you run into the kind of defense the ’03 Dolphins can play, it can become impossible.'

Miami 17, Buffalo 7 [4:48 AM]AP reports:
'The Bills' first four possessions produced two turnovers and no first downs, and they wasted two scoring chances inside the Miami 20 in the second quarter. One threat ended when a trick play backfired, with Henry's underthrown pass being intercepted by Surtain at the 1.'

Miami 17, Buffalo 7 [4:45 AM]Sportsticker reports:
'"I certainly didn't think that we would come out and play the way we did," Bledsoe said. "I thought we would play better than we did. They had a good plan for us and they changed some things up on us which they haven't done in three or four years."'

Williams and Dolphins run over Buffalo [4:44 AM]The Sports Network reports:
'"The way Miami controlled the line of scrimmage, especially against our offense, made it a long night for our defense," said Bills head coach Gregg Williams. "They were able to play on the short field most of the night and Ricky was able to pop a few runs late in the game and they were able to put the game away."'

Postgame Notes [4:42 AM]MiamiDolphins.com reports:
'With two interceptions tonight, Bills CB Nate Clements now has six interceptions over his last three games against the Dolphins, including two for touchdowns. In addition to his 54-yard return for a score tonight, he brought one back 29 yards on October 20 of last year at Pro Player Stadium when he picked off a Ray Lucas pass.'

Dolphins Quotes [4:41 AM]MiamiDolphins.com reports:
'“We got real physical with these guys and the defensive line did a terrific job up front and really got after the quarterback. When everything comes together like it did tonight you’re going to have a great defensive game and we did.”'